This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Dr. Harry Dalton is a volcanologist with the U.S. Geographical Survey sent to investigate seismic activity in Dante's Peak, a small town in Washington that borders a dormant volcano. What begins as a routine assignment quickly turns frantic and deadly, as he becomes the sole 'voice of reason' while trying to convince his superiors and the blissful town inhabitants of an impending eruption. Despite an obvious setup, it's well-acted with beautiful scenery, first-rate special effects, and a solid buildup of suspense...it's only the dramatic aspect of the story-specifically character relationships-that seem familiar and unconvincing, along with an ending that feels much too convenient. **½

What you get from "Dante's Peak" is a pretty typical disaster movie that adds little to that broad "genre." Dante's Peak is a little town in the state of Washington that's nestled against a mountain. It's celebrating the fact that it's been named the "Second Best Place to Live In The United States With A Population Under 20,000." They'll need a huge plaque for the town hall just to get all the words on it. Well, actually they won't. Because there's not going to be a town hall - or a town - for much longer. It turns out that the mountain is a volcano that's getting ready to blow its top.The main characters are Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) - a geologist with the US Geological Survey who realizes that the mountains about to explode - and Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton) - the mayor of the town. The big question is whether to prepare the town for evacuation. There's just been a company that's made a huge investment, and evacuating because of a potential volcanic eruption won't look very good. Profits before safety, you know - kind of like "Jaws" and other movies. The movie pushes the typical buttons. Rachel has a couple of kids who do something stupid and have to be saved and an ornery mother in law who won't take advice and there's a cute dog too. I was actually more worried about poor Roughy than anyone else in this.Special effects were OK. Performances were OK. Story was typical for a disaster film, although it seemed a little bit long. It's not better or worse than most of them. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to watch it, but it works if you have some time to kill. (5/10)

USGS scientist Harry Dalton is sent to the small town of Dante's Peak to check on unusual activity. Spurred by the volcano related death of his previous love, Dalton urges Mayor Rachel Wando to put the city on alert. Dalton's boss arrives and countermands Dalton demanding scientific proof. When the proof finally arrives, Harry and Rachel must go to the volcano to rescue her two children and ex-mother-in-law. Danger arises as they try to reach safety while the town below is destroyed......It's your atypical disaster movie, but not like the ones that were more famous in the seventies like The Towering Inferno and Earthquake, it's more like the ones that were made on the tail end of the success of those films.This one feels more like Meteor, or that one with half the cast of Inferno in it, about a hotel near a volcano.And it starts as it means to go on, completely stupidly, but not having one inch of tongue in cheek about it whatsoever. And for this, it's unintentionally hilarious right from the moment a random piece of rock fall through Dalton's truck and kills his girlfriend....Flash forward a few years, and once the most aggressive push ups ever committed to screen are finished, it's back to your standard disaster movie of Dalton warning everyone, everyone doubting him, apart from Sarah Connor, who is falling for him.After all, if you can't find a Terminator, I'm sure Bond would suffice.As it goes, it's nothing really special it's The Deep impact to Volcanos Armageddon, it tries to be too serious, but when we have boiling bodies in hot springs, a woman pushing a boat through acidic water, and the funniest use of a Wilhelm scream ever, you cannot take the film for it is trying to be.Plus, the young boy will have you thinking its Joseph Gordon Levitt for the most part.Brosnan and Hamilton make it more classier than it should be, but I'll always go back to Tommy Lee Jones.After all, The Coast is Toast.

I am a year 10 student, and we have recently watched Dante's Peak the movie and would defiantly recommend it to other people. The characters were good. The main characters was harry the valcaulogist (Pierce Branson) he was my favourite actor. The other actor were Rachel the major , owner of a coffee shop and mother of her 2 children Lauren and Graham. My second favourite character was granny Ruth, as she just seemed to be a legend and her wee dog Ruffy. It started of 4 years earlier when Harry was in central America with girlfriend a volcano explorer who got killed by a pyroclast killed her, it then came back to now, harry was sent to Dante's Peak to investigate. After investigating, Harry decided to put the town on alert. The boss said no and wouldn't put the town on alert…then the volcano erupted. Harry, Rachel the 2 kids and they dog all survived, Granny Ruth died jumping into boiling hot water to save all them! I loved this movie, it's one of the best movies I've watched. I LOVED IT!!